By Jennifer Sawhney

During election season, it's hard to miss the candidates’ signs across the city.

There are rules and regulations around their placement, size, and enforcement – rules provided to candidates in a large binder by the city clerk at the start of the season.

Since Oct. 1, Petaluma Code Enforcement has received a total of ten complaints about candidates’ signs. Of those ten complaints, five were founded, said Jenna Garcia, deputy director of community development for the City of Petaluma.

Of those five violations, one was made against City council member and candidate John Shribbs, which he said he quickly resolved. The rest related to signs belonging to mayoral candidate Shelina Moreda. All but one of the complaints against Moreda have been resolved as of Wednesday morning, Garcia told Petaluma Voice by email.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Shribbs said he received the courtesy notice by email and “acted immediately” to remove the sign in question, which had been placed on public land. According to the city’s implementing zoning ordinance, campaign signs cannot be placed on public property and may be removed if found there.

The four complaints toward Moreda’s campaign included two signs on public property, and two that were larger than permitted.

Signs in residential areas cannot be more than 20 square feet in area or more than six feet tall if detached, and must be placed at least five feet from the property line, Garcia said. 

Two of Moreda’s residential signs were four feet by eight feet, or 32 square feet, which exceeds the residential limits. They also were attached to fences that were less than five feet from the property line, Garcia said.

In nonresidential areas, the total sign area on a parcel cannot exceed 50 square feet, though a larger sign may be placed on an “existing legally permitted sign structure” like a billboard.

Moreda did not respond to a request for comment. Garcia said Moreda has not responded to city staffers’ attempts to reach the mayoral candidate by email, phone, and text message, although she has resolved three of the four violations.

Reached by phone, mayoral candidates John Hanania and Kevin McDonnell and council candidates Karen Nau, Janice Cader Thompson, Brent Newell, Eric Vazquez, Alan LaPierre, and Nate Martin said they had not received any complaints for their campaigns.

Candidates Cader Thompson, Hanania, and Shribbs mentioned the thick binder they received with the rules and regulations stipulated inside.

“I’m doing what I’m allowed to do,” Hanania said about his signs and the campaign rules. He said he and Moreda have exchanged heated texts over their campaign signs, with her accusing him of taking her signs. He denied doing so, and said he has been “going by the rules.”

Campaign signs are allowed 90 days before and 15 days after the election, Garcia said.

Enforcing the rules

“Responding to campaign sign complaints is important but requires significant city resources and takes staff time away from other important health and safety work,” Garcia said.

When staff find violations, code enforcement “contact(s) the property owner, and in many cases the campaign and business, when applicable. We give reasonable notice to allow time to remove the sign or bring it into compliance,” Garcia wrote.

“If someone is unresponsive or unwilling to comply, the City will issue administrative citations. Penalties are $100 for a first violation, $500 for a second violation or if it has not been resolved after the first citation, and $1,000 for a third and subsequent violation within that period.” she wrote.

Code enforcement may issue citations to any responsible parties, which could include property owners, businesses, tenants, the campaign, or candidate, she said.

No citations or fines have been issued yet, Garcia said.

Staff encourage voluntary compliance. If that does not happen, Garcia said the city “acts swiftly and firmly. We are committed to fairly enforcing local law so our community stays safe and welcoming, and candidates and voters can participate fully and fairly” in the election process.

Jennifer Sawhney is a reporter and co-founder of Petaluma Voice. She can be reached at jsawhney@petalumavoice.org.